​ ​th Period 
A.P. Literature 8 ​

THE IMPORTANCE OF 

RELATIONSHIPS AND 
FRIENDSHIPS 
___ 

By Regina Eugenio 

INTRODUCTION 
We all know that there are some points in our lives where we find a significant other or 
companion that we wish will accompany us for the rest of our lives.  

 
  

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Pros of a Relationship 

There are many benefits to having someone you adore and admire in your life. These 
pros include spending as much time as you want with them. This means that you wake up next 
to them and lay beside them at night. Obviously, in between those times, you are inseparable 
and are with each other twenty-four hours of the day. Moreover, people dedicate alloted time to 
spend with their significant other or loved one. Another advantage is that your love for them 
grows stronger every single day. It will never fade away and it will just increase from here on 
out. Through this, the bond of trust and respect will expand as time goes on. People involved in 
healthy relationships will grow comfortable with communicating without hesitation and 
ignorance. With the endless hours you spend with one another, this is the perfect time to get to 
know each other more. On top of all of this, both of you get to cuddle as much as you want. 
Being involved in a bond with another individual increases one’s sense of purpose in life, 
making them have the motivation to attain big and better accomplishments (“Why Healthy 
Relationships Are So Important”). It is good to find a soulmate that pushes their partner to 
strive for greatness and encourage them as well. This helps make the bond more stronger and 
establish a solid connection with that individual.  

Looking at the more psychological side of a relationship, people enter one for multiple 
reasons. These said reasons may be to fill a void that is missing within an individual. They want 
to find the other half of themselves that will fully complete their life (“Are You In A 
Relationship For The Right Reasons?”).  

Cons of a Relationship 

Aside from all the benefits that a relationship entails, there are also many disadvantages 
that go along with it as will. As time goes on, a relationship turns into a job because it is a 
priority one has to fulfill on a day-to-day basis. You have to make sure you satisfy their needs 
and wants. Schedule a time when you want to see each other (that’s if you don’t live together). 
When spending countless amounts of hours with them, the interest soon dies down and you get 
bored of them sooner or later. Not only that, but once each person continuously get in 
arguments this pattern will eventually be repeated over time. Whenever something negative 
happens, members of the couple find different ways to spread positive sentiment to these 
negative situations so they will hopefully get over the situation sooner or later. However, the 
couple will not look at each other the same anymore and the lust will slowly fade away. It is 
  

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easy for people in a relationship to look at their bond at a more negative connotation and 
struggle to find the positive attributes of each person (“Positive and Negative Perspective in 
Relationships”).  

Depending on one’s relationship, there can be a mental strain on one’s health. This 
occurs when there are negative behaviours such as criticism and aggression expressed during 
the relationship. Also, going through heartbreaks and divorces affect one’s mental health 
compared to a person who have been single for their whole life. Women go through many 
arguments and disagreements in their relationships have an increased chance of higher blood 
pressure and sugar, obesity, and lack of physical activities. Thus, an abundance of added stress 
is put onto the shoulders of people a part of a relationship (“5 Ways Relationships Are Bad for 
Your Health”). 

As relation to the psychological pros stated above, trying to find someone to fill that 
void that one is missing is not a healthy way of going about a relationship. Each partner in the 
relationship will consequently get disappointed if things do not work out how they want it to. 
There are many other options as to how you can learn how to maintain your own self love and 
try to find the missing piece by yourself, rather than relying on a significant other to provide 
that love and happiness to you (“Are You In A Relationship For The Right Reasons?”). 

Pros of a Friendship/Companionship 

In all honesty, it is good to have a bond with someone else. Friends give the sense of 
connection that offers a sense of comfort, acceptance, and individuality. The thought that there 
is a person that you can always communicate, have a shoulder to lean on, gives feeling of 
contentment and optimism. Spending time with friends cures loneliness. Friends are also there 
to provide good ideas and relate to each other in terms of fears and/or frustrations. They offer a 
safe space to vent to without having to worry about being judged in any way. There are 
psychological benefits that friendships carry like a sense of belonging and a stronger 
self-esteem (“Top 5 Benefits of Friendship”).  

It is enjoyable to experience fun times with them rather than just doing it yourself. They 
are not only there for you to have entertaining moments, but they are there to endure hardships 
alongside you. Friends may offer the most life-changing advice and they always know what to 
tell you during a difficult situation in time. Whenever your family is not there to comfort you, 
your friends are always a phone call away. Another aspect that is pleasant to have in a 
companionship is that you can share so many things in common. You can practically find your 
  

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long lost twin in a sense. They can gather their mutual moral values and common interests. It is 
interesting to know that there are other individuals out there that are so much alike you. It is 
hard to find someone like that because everyone is unique in their own special way. 

Cons of a Friendship/Companionship 

Friendships can be good and all, but there are many downsides that come along with 
them. Some people may claim that they are your friends, when they really are not. This is when 
an ingenuine feeling comes into play and you never know who your REAL friends are. Bad 
company can lead to one obtaining bad habits, so choose your friends wisely. Your friends 
dictate who you are. Moreover, if you are not content with your friends, this is an indicator that 
you should mature and change. Change is not necessarily a bad thing. Jealousy can develop as 
well. One should keep in mind that your friends can have other companions too. Do not only 
keep them to yourselves. Friends may consume so much of your time than you want them to. 
Spend the right amount of time with them and do not go overboard.  

There are times where friendships go downhill. Moreover, this is when one of the people 
slowly find ways to dislike the other. There is always a characteristic that one may find in their 
friend that they do not like. But the mature thing to do is focus on the positives of the person 
rather than all the negatives. This is what establishes the bond in a friendship. But if the one 
factor that the person dislikes gets in the way of the friendship, it is only right to drop that 
individual from your life. The loss of a friend is not necessarily a bad thing. It allows that 
individual to grow and appreciate the good ones that are still in one’s life (“Some Friends, 
Indeed, Do More Harm Than Good”).   

Books that Exhibit the Important of Relationships and Friendships 

There are many books out there that stress the significance of having someone that is 
emotionally, physically and/or mentally attached to you. Some of these books include: 

➢ Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko 

This book demonstrates a relationship between two boys who are not blood-related, but 
act like they are. Tayo, the protagonist in the novel, would not have joined the military if it 
were not for Rocky (Tayo’s adoptive brother). However, Rocky dies during the war in the 
  

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Philippines. But there were many thoughts that Tayo had about Rocky and he would always 
reoccur in his mind. So, their bond was definitely close physically and mentally (Silko, 1977).   

➢ Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ​(Steinbeck, 1937) 

George and Lennie were best friends and they worked on farms to make a living. George 
is always accompanying Lennie due to his mental disability, so George has been a real friend to 
him (BBC.com). They have been through it all and have dreamt of having their own farm one 
day. Lennie has been aspiring to have this farm more than George was though. He has always 
wanted to have rabbits. But Lennie has been super annoying about this and it got on George’s 
last nerves. At the end, George ends up killing Lennie and this shows one of the many cons of a 
friendship. There is eventually going to be someone backstabbing the other (Steinbeck, 1937).  

➢ The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (​ Hosseini, 2003) 

Amir, the main character of this amazing novel, has a best friend named Hassan. They 
have been childhood friends so they know each other well. Although Hassan is his servant, Amir 
does not treat him as lesser. Thus, the development of this bond shows that you do not have to 
be blood-related to be brothers (“Relationship Between Amir & Hassan in the Kite Runner,” 
2018).  

➢ Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo  

Companionship is not only expressed through humans, but animals as well. In this 
novel, Opal was lonely since her mom left her years back. Now moved in with her father in a 
small town in Florida, she has no friends and misses her old friends dearly. Luckily, she found a 
companion called Winn-Dixie at a puppy store. This developed into eradicating the sadness of 
having no friends into opening a door to making new friends and having your own partner right 
at you toes (DiCamillo, 2000).  

Effects that Relationships/Friendships have on your Mental/Physical 

Health 

➔ According to a health science article done under the University of Minnesota, 

relationships are proven to reduce stress and improve overall health (“How relationships 
affect health and wellbeing,” 2015). This is only true for some relationships. There are 
many relationships out there in the world that are mentally straining. So, this implied 
towards healthy relationships. 
  

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➔ Individuals that are associated in a poor relationships they are more likely to fall under 
depression, and loneliness that can increasingly cause your immune system to weaken 
(“How relationships affect health and wellbeing,” 2015). If one is in a detrimental 
relationship, then it can lead to serious health implications that can affect them in the 
long run. Thus, it is best to leave that relationship before it takes a toll on one’s 
well-being. 

➔ MentalHealth.org.uk ​conducted a study and it stated, “In 1938, Harvard University began 
following 724 participants as part of the longest-running study on human development 
in history. The study was developed to determine what makes us happy. The study 
explored every part of who we are, from physical and psychological traits to social life 
and IQ, to learn how we can flourish. Findings from the study were published in the 
2012 book Triumphs of Experience, with key results showing that happiness and health 
aren’t a result of wealth, fame or working hard, but come instead from our 
relationships” (“Relationships in the 21​st​ century: the forgotten foundation of mental 
health and wellbeing”). Happiness can stem from relationships and friendships, which is 
why having these in your life may be very beneficial. 

 
➔ “A review of 148 studies concluded that ‘the influence of social relationships on the risk 
of death are comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality such as smoking 
and alcohol consumption and exceed the influence of other risk factors such as physical 
inactivity and obesity’ and that ‘physicians, health professionals, educators, and the 
media should […] take social relationships as seriously as other risk factors that affect 
mortality’” (“Relationships in the 21​st​ century: the forgotten foundation of mental 
health and wellbeing”). Social relationships are similar to having “risk factors” 
compared to other actions/activities that may imply death. There are many individuals 
who do not see the significance of relationships in one’s live compared to other risk 
factors that people take in life.  
 

➔ According to ​Mindwise.org​, it said, “In a number of studies, friendship and social support 
have been linked to better physical health outcomes, like lower rates of heart disease” 
  

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(“How Friendship Affects Your Physical & Mental Health”). Friendship support is 
helpful due to the fact that it can decrease the chance of one receiving a health problem. 

➔ Another quote found from ​Mindwise.org s​ tated, ​“One such study (published in the 
Annals of Behavioral Medicine in 2007) revealed that young men and women who 
discussed difficult parts of their lives had a lower pulse and blood pressure when a 
supportive friend accompanied them” (“How Friendship Affects Your Physical & Mental 
Health”). This just goes to show that friends are there for you when you do not have the 
courage to open up about your problems alone. It is always fun to have a companion 
through the good times and the bad times. 

Sources 

 
Northwestern Medicine. "Five Benefits of Healthy Relationships." N
​ orthwestern Medicine​. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr.  
2019.​ <​https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/5-benefits-of-healthy-relationships​>. 

 
McNulty, Kate. "Positive and Negative Perspective in Relationships." G
​ oodTherapy.org Therapy Blog​. N.p., 02 July  
2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2019. 
<​https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/positive-and-negative-perspective-in-relationships-0729135​>.  

 
Tse, Iris. "5 Ways Relationships Are Bad for Your Health." ​LiveScience​. Purch, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 02 Apr. 2019.  
<​https://www.livescience.com/35469-5-ways-relationships-are-bad-for-your-health.html​>. 

 
Sklare, John H. "Top 5 Benefits of Friendship." ​EverydayHealth.com​. N.p., 15 Nov. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2019.  
<​https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/top-5-benefits-friendship/​>. 

 
Duenwald, Mary. "Some Friends, Indeed, Do More Harm Than Good." T
​ he New York Times​. The New York Times,  
10 Sept. 2002. Web. 02 Apr. 2019.  
<​https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/10/health/some-friends-indeed-do-more-harm-than-good.html​>.  

"Relationship Between Amir & Hassan in The Kite Runner." ​Study.com​. Study.com, 24 Jan. 2018. Web. 20 Mar. 2019.  
<​https://study.com/academy/lesson/relationship-between-amir-hassan-in-the-kite-runner.html​>.  
  

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University Relations News Service. "How Relationships Affect Health and Wellbeing." ​University of Minnesota  
Twin Cities​. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 31 Jan. 2019. Web. 18 Mar. 2019.  
<​https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/how-relationships-affect-health-and-wellbeing​>. 
 

"Relationships in the 21st Century: The Forgotten Foundation of Mental Health and Wellbeing." ​Mental Health  
Foundation​. N.p., 15 May 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2019. 
<​https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/relationships-21st-century-forgotten-foundation-mental-hea
lth-and-wellbeing​>.  

 
"How Friendship Affects Your Physical & Mental Health." ​MindWise​. N.p., 25 Feb. 2019. Web. 15 Mar. 2019.  
<​https://www.mindwise.org/blog/mental-health/how-friendship-affects-your-physical-mental-health/​>. 

 
"Themes - Revision 4 - GCSE English Literature - BBC Bitesize." ​BBC News​. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2019.  
<​https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zpvhycw/revision/4​>.  
 
Paul, Margaret. "Are You In A Relationship For The Right Reasons?" H ​ uffPost​. HuffPost, 09 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Apr.  
2019​.​ <
​ ​https://www.huffpost.com/entry/relationship-advice_n_1947837​>.